Violent Crime Reduction Bill

moved Amendment No. 15:"Page 2, line 32, leave out ““16”” and insert ““18””" The noble Lord said: Amendment No. 15 brings us to a rather different topic. I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 24, 34 and 35, which are grouped with it. They are concerned with the naming and shaming of individuals between the ages of 16 and 18 who are made the subject of these orders. The Government have taken a robust view of naming and shaming people who are subject to ASBOs. On 1 March, the Home Secretary, Mr Clarke, calling on local authorities to name and shame, said:"““Too many communities are still blighted by the mindless behaviour of a few yobs, who can ruin the quality of life for everyone. Many offenders think that they are untouchable and above the law. If they thought there would be a news blackout on their actions they must now think again. Publicising ASBOs has been tested in the courts and today we are making the position crystal clear—your photo could be all over the local media, your local community will know who you are and breaching an ASBO could land you in prison””." I suppose that one might say of Mr Clarke that his photo is all over the media and that the community knows who is, but I shall not pursue that. However, an opposite view is put forward by Professor Al Aynsley-Green, who is England’s first Children’s Commissioner. Speaking on a Channel 4 programme in February, he said that naming and shaming is not in a child’s best interests. These amendments are concerned with people between the ages of 16 and 18, who are ““children”” as defined in United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Professor Aynsley-Green said of naming and shaming:"““I’m very concerned about this because it is a breach of one of the UN Conventional Rights of the Child’s articles. Children have the right to privacy, and I’m very alarmed when invitations are expressed through the media to get the local people to name and shame the young people, particularly children under the age of criminal responsibility””." Fortunately, the drinking banning orders are not concerned with children of that age. Professor Aynsley-Green continued:"““I think it affects both the older generation and the younger generation. The incessant portrayal of children as thugs and hooligans and yobs reinforces the fears that the other generation has . . . It influences political directions, it influences political policy and it certainly influences possible changes in legislation””." He was also concerned that,"““the incessant dispersal, the incessant pressure of ASBOs are generating alienation of a generation of young people from law and authority and that can only be seriously damaging to our society in the future, if we have a generation now who are children who grow up as adults who do not respect law and order and do not respect the power of authority””." It is all very well for the Home Secretary to say, ““Publish their names! Publish their photographs! Let the neighbours tell the authorities that they are in breach of this order or that order or prohibition””, but the consequence, as fully outlined by the Children’s Commissioner, will be the alienation of young people from authority. If that goes for ASBOs, so it will go for the new drinking banning orders. The only difference that I see is that, in the context of drinking, there may be naming, but there will be little shaming of the person who has his photograph plastered everywhere—in the present culture of drinking, it might be more a badge of honour. Naming and shaming is not a proportionate response to youth drinking. I suggest to the Government that it will not assist the proposals for treatment courses that we have just acclaimed to have a person coming out of the place where he has taken the course to see his picture and details plastered all over the place and to have the population pointing at him. So I ask the Government to think again about 16 to 18 year-olds, which is the age group to which my amendments relate. I ask them to think again about the whole policy of naming and shaming when it comes to ASBOs, but, in particular, not to extend it to the drinking banning orders. I beg to move.